trust

We sing a song in church titled, “I Will Trust in You,” written by Lauren Daigle, Paul Marbury, Michael Farren.

The song talks about how we stay strong when God doesn’t move the mountains or part the sea or give us the kind of answers we expect or want.

How do we handle trudging over that mountain? How do we continue when we have to walk through the floods? What kind of heart attitude must we bear when the answers to our prayers don’t rescue us from situations, illnesses, or circumstances of life?

The song says that it is then we must trust.  “I will trust, I will trust in You.”

That’s not a new thought. David during trouble said, “I trust in you, O LORD; I say, ‘You are my God.’ My times are in your hands.”  [Psalm 31:14-15 NIV]

Jesus told us, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.” [John 14:1 NIV]

We commit our spiritual well-being to God. No matter what we see with our natural eye. No matter what we must go through, endure, or overcome in this life, our belief in God and in His Christ holds us steady.

The mountains may loom, but God will give us hinds-feet for high places. The sea may seem to overwhelm, but Jesus can quiet our soul. And the answers to our prayers may be different than expected, but He will never leave us, nor forsake us. I will trust, I can trust, in Him.

Prov 3:5-6: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”  [NKJV]

I usually carry a cane with me when I walk. In the past when I walked outside, I carried a walking stick mainly as a guard against dogs or when I would walk on unpaved sections of the road where I’d have to deal with stones, uneven ground, and potholes. Lately, however, I use it all the time. My muscles are a bit compromised and that throws my balance off, so, I “lean on” my walking stick.  I trust it to keep me upright and bear my weight in every and all circumstances.

The Psalmist reminds us that we are to not rely on our own human understanding or wisdom but are to trust in the LORD our God with all our hearts.  Our own understanding often fails us. I could even say our understanding will “always” fail us if we base it on mere human knowledge and wisdom. 

Instead, we are to keep the LORD our God in the forefront of our mind in every situation, in every day. Trusting in God isn’t just a Sunday “come-to-meeting” experience, it’s a 24-7-365 experience. We are to remember Him all the time and not just remember, we are also to acknowledge Him. We are to follow Him.

When we follow Him, He “shall direct [our] paths.”  That doesn’t mean that every obstacle will be removed, or every circumstance or situation averted. It does mean, however, that at the very least we won’t have all those self-generated obstacles in our way!  Most of what I must jump over comes from my own impatience, rebellion, misdirection, and stupidity anyway!

Oh LORD, we trust in You, acknowledge You, and lean on You to direct our every step, every day. Help us, O God. Amen.

I was reading one of those Christian romance/mystery novels the other night and came across this quote by the author Susan Sleeman.  “It’s a lot easier to trust God with someone else’s life than your own.”

As Christians, trust is a main component of our walk with God. Probably the most well-known verse is found in Proverbs 3:5: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding …” [HCSB]

That thought continues “…think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths. Don’t consider yourself to be wise, fear the LORD and turn away from evil.” [vs 6-7]

As Ms. Sleeman wrote in her novel, it is a lot easier to look at someone else’s life and decide what they need to do to trust God. It is a lot easier to give advice to others about their faith, than it often is to maintain our own in the midst of difficulties and confusing times.

Yet trusting God is fundamental to maintaining a healthy relationship with our Creator and Savior and LORD. Proverbs gives the command to trust in the LORD and not rely on our own wisdom. It reminds us to “think about Him in all [our] ways.”

When we fail to apply God’s standards to our ways, we move away from “right paths.” That often puts us on a confrontation with evil in our lives. The voice of the LORD diminishes because we do not want to hear that we are relying on our own understanding and being foolish in our evaluation of our own abilities.

The only way back when we find ourselves relying on ourselves is through repentance – an about-face and return to Him who loves us so.

Today is the day The Way Middleton will meet the pastoral candidate selected by the Recruitment Committee to replace me. There will be a message, a Meet & Greet Potluck, followed by a vote. If this candidate is voted in, my last day will be December 31 … and my last Sunday will be December 26.

It is becoming very real that soon my life will change dramatically. I am soon to be 75 years old. I am not going to be doing the same thing I have been doing for so long. I am sure God has something for me, I am just unsure of what that might be. And not knowing is definitely not my favorite place to be!

I am a planner. I am a little bit OCD. I like knowing where I am going, how I am going to get there and when I will arrive. Right now, I have no idea.

I feel a bit like my son when he was little. Before we left the house each morning for school, he wanted to know what was for dinner that night. If I did not know, he would become upset and his whole day would be more difficult. Of course, if I told him we were having meatloaf and he came home to spaghetti, he was still upset. I think I know from whom he got those attitudes!

I am praying that God has His best for The Way going forward. I am praying that God has His best for me going forward.

I am just fussing a bit this morning that He has yet to reveal what His best for me is. I want to know, am I having meatloaf or spaghetti! (Smile!)

 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths.” [Proverbs 3:5-6 HCSB]

I like a little light reading in the late afternoon or before I go to bed. Something that is clean and fun to read but does not require a lot of brain power. I think better in the morning, so afternoons and evenings are usually not spent studying anything deep or difficult.

I have found a couple “Christian adventure/romance” authors and having been going through their series. They are light romance, boy always gets the girl, and all this is done amid dealing with the difficulties of life and remaining close to the LORD.

As I read them, I hardly ever expect to find anything that makes me go “whoa!” but the other night that is exactly what happened. Something one of the book’s characters said stopped me in my tracks.

“God always gets it right. When we worry or question Him, it’s like we think He’s gotten it wrong.”

Wow! I mean WOW! Those last few words shook me … I wondered how many times I thought God got it wrong! And then the implication of that line of thought … if God could get this wrong, what else might He get wrong!

Of course, God gets absolutely NOTHING wrong. He is perfect in His thinking and character. He knows all things (omniscience), even what might happen because of choices (both good and bad) that we and others might make. He considers all things and always makes the right conclusions and sets the right path for each of us.

I must trust Him completely (He has proven over and over that He is worthy of that trust.)

And I must convey that I trust Him completely to others, otherwise my lack of trust, my worry, my doubts might communicate to others that I think God has gotten it wrong.

Forgive me, LORD, if I have ever given others that wrong impression.  Amen

Psalm 31:7 “I will rejoice and be glad in Your faithful love because You have seen my affliction. You have known the troubles of my life.” [HCSB]

Psalm 31:14-15: “I trust in You, Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’ The course of my life is in Your power.” [HCSB]

In my Bible, Psalm 31 is labeled, “A Plea for Protection.” In it, David bounces back and forth from talking about his enemies to remembering his LORD. It opens with a prayer for refuge and ends with a testimony and an admonishment to others to be strong and courageous for “the LORD protects the loyal.” [vs 1, 23 HCSB]

For me, as I read through David’s song this morning, I was touched in my soul by two thoughts. First is David’s acknowledgment of joy and gladness because of the LORD’s faithful love in the midst of affliction and troubles. David knows that God has seen His affliction and known all the troubles of His life.

We can rejoice with David that God both sees and knows the difficulties we face. He knows the smallest and most intimate details of our daily lives. But is that enough? Is it enough for us that God sees and knows?  Do we need more than that to put our trust in the LORD?

David also reminds us that in addition to rejoicing in God seeing and knowing, David can trust in the LORD because the course of his life is in God’s hands.

We, too, can trust our God, because the course of our lives – all of our life from beginning to end – is in the good and gracious Hands of our Loving God. 

Amen & Amen!